Finder of Secrets
by kradeelav
Summary: After three times of bumping into the swordmaster that walked like a laguz, Lyre simply had to know more about him.


**A/N: **Thought about this when I was doing my Lyre/Zihark playthrough, and how they'd interact. I'd imagine she'd be immensely curious about what's so _different_ about him, and well, I might have shipped this at one point of time. D Still a little rusty in terms of fanfiction, as I'm more used to RPing than anything.

Lyre was born inquisitive; or so her ma had always said. It drove her crazy sometimes when she was always exploring inside and outside to find adventure - starting at the age of three when she climbed trees to find jackdaw nests. Sometimes it drove the other laguz crazy too, as they'd always growl at her to shoo when the questions came in droves, much like a flock of tasty birds.

She'd never admit it to Lethe, but it was for that reason that she had followed her sister to the battlefield - seeing and actually _meeting_ that strange other race was just another adventure for her.

Most of them were boring and stinky with steel, but something about the swordsman bugged at her.

The first time they had met had been on the foggy riverbanks on the Ribahn River - just a glance shared as Lethe dragged the exhausted and wounded swordsman onto the shore. Lyre thought it had been all one strange dream, or that some ancient spectre had possessed her prickly-at-best sister to _care_ for a _human_.

Seeing her offering him life, and - more importantly - _hope_ in the nightmare of war had intriuged the cat. She toyed with the thought of pestering him with questions, but had never mustered enough time and energy to go looking for a _human_.

The second time was in the aftermath of Ashera's Judgement. In the chaos, the remnants of the laguz army had been scrambiling for control, and it was all she could do to find a fellow laguz to stick with. (Unfortunately it was just Skirmir, and not the glorious captain that somehow vanished into thin air with all the grace of a cat.) There had been a brief run-in as she bumped into the strange beorc swordsman who walked like a laguz, an apology muttered, and then he had disappeared all too easily.

After the third time in the snows of northern Begnion, she simply _had_ to know more.

He wasn't hard to find - her nose simply followed the distinctive tang of sword powder and well-worn leather that led her within shouting distance of the abandoned fortress that Micaiah had chosen.

Perhaps she wanted to get out of the fortress and out from the Madien's reach, anyway - why had they put her with Skirmir's group, and not Ranulf's - who was on the other side of Begnion? Didn't they know better with all the hints she had dropped? Skirmir hardly needed protection; rather, he had almost torn the Raven King to pieces already.

He was either tough, or midly stupid for a beorc - going out with only one layer of clothing was near suicide in the still-bitter winter. Even covered by reeds from the howling wind, she felt the cold to her bones.

"I know you're there; don't worry, I don't bite."

Mildly affronted at her less-than-stellar stealth skills, Lyre stalked up in human form, tail twitching. She still didn't feel comfortable with humans, but Lethe had knew, -_trusted_- him enough to ask him to fight for their side, and Lethe hated humans even more than she did.

Alright, maybe not _hate_, but they sure did stink of steel and sweat, and were always too noisy, dirty, or just plain rude for her tastes. Even serving alongside Ike's company in the Laguz Alliance had been a chore, as Kyza had to pry her off one particularly crass archer many times over.

Despite the welter of questions just begging to be asked, she couldn't help but freeze up at talking to a beorc; they had either shied away, or said nasty things that almost convinced her that all the humans were just a waste of time.

Like this one - why was she even so interested in him anyway?

"Cat got your tounge?" This time, he turned, a slight but genuine smile directed at her. "You know, you're so different from your sister that it took me a while to figure -"

"Keep your nose out of laguz business -" She all but snapped, the hackles on her neck prickling. "I don't even know why Lethe would trust a beorc like _you_."

"Sorry - was I too forward? I'm Zihark, by the way." He tilted his head exactly like a cat would, cold blue hair falling to his shoulders. "May I ask yours?"

"… Lyre."

"That's a pretty name."

"That doesn't matter! Just who are you? How did you meet my sister?" And there it was with the questions; but at least they were out in the frost-bitingly air.

For the first time, the swordsman paused in the polishing of his sword, and glanced at her fully. She was suddenly struck by how, - well, he'd never match _Ranulf_ - attractive he was, all lean muscle and almond eyes. If it weren't for the fact he was one of those damnable humans…

"Well now, that's an interesting question there! The short story is that Lethe recruited me to Ike's side in the Mad King's War; I had been undercover with a gang of deplorable vigilantes at the time." Zihark examined the gleaming sword in his hands; and sheathed it, having found it satisfactory.

"Thank the goddess I found her before they did. I don't doubt her poweress at all, but they were really one nasty piece of work."

"Then why were you with them? Because that sounds stupid." Lyre found herself gingerly sitting on a log opposite from him, ready to spring away whenever he showed that nasty side.

All humans had it.

Zihark half snorted with amusement, lacing his fingers together in a comfortable posture. "Wondered about that for years, too …" His voice trailed off, and there was a noticeable pause.

"I saw that they were going after laguz, and since the law wouldn't stop them, somebody had to step up to the plate." He shrugged, and the cat had the oddest feeling that there was an entire story behind those simple words.

"Now that we've interrogated me, my dear, do you mind if I scamper away? Or you could come have a meal together, I don't mind."

"A - _what_?"

He grinned, dimples appearing as he lazily stretched, gathering his personal items. "I'd offer to take you out to a good restaurant, but it'd be just a tad boring when the waiters and cooks are all stone. Don't look at me like that, I can tell you're just as famished as I am."

"_You_-! Get back here, you're just as insolent as that stuffy old tiger!"


End file.
